EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FASHION FESTIVAL WITH GIANNI SCUMACI

On 21 – 24 July 2016 Edinburgh’s International Fashion Festival entered its fifth year. This year, the festival focussed on creating a shared platform for young designers and established industry professionals who discussed topics in relation to the current fashion world. On Thursday 21st July, Gianni Scumaci, a third generation hairdresser who trained at the prestigious Vidal Sassoon in London, opened the fashion festival with a talk and an exhibition.

The AJC team went along to get to know Scumaci a bit better, find out about his creative process and what his inspirations were. During the talk, Scumaci showed some of his previous work on shoots and how he got models to portray a certain character. He also spoke about how he was captivated by hair from a young boy, however, later realised he was more fascinated by the people and his ability to connect and communicate with them on a deeper level which would effectively impact the decisions and direction on the style he would do to their hair.

The exhibition unveiled Scumaci’s latest work, a collaboration with the inspired movement ‘Sink The Pink’. Created by Glyn Fussell, Sink The Pink has changed the face of London Clubbing. During the talk, Scumaci spoke about how he decided to collaborate with Sink The Pink after an encounter with Fussell at a shoot. Scumaci further discussed how the movement and everyone involved had inspired him to create his latest work. Scumaci informed the audience of how getting to know the men involved with Sink The Pink on a deeper level was able to allow him to discover their inner characters, moreover, allowing him to bring these characters out in a visual way. Scumaci and Fussell introduced the subjects of the exhibition team to the audience by showing photos before the shoot took place. Fussell gave some information about each of the team; their character, interests and skills, then Scumaci went on to talk about how used the teams characters to develop the looks for his exhibition along with images of the looks.

The night finished with Scumaci having a chat with publisher of Creative Head, Catherine Hancock. The chat was about all things hair, including how Scumaci uses his feelings along with his techniques learned from Vidal Sassoon to create the perfect hairstyles for his customers.

The AJC team thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and talk and thought Scumaci opened the Edinburgh International Fashion Festival perfectly, keeping his audience engaged and interested at all times. The team also loved hearing about Sink The Pink and how the movement has encouraged many people to feel good in their own skin and have a place to go where they feel comfortable. The movement is truly inspirational and Fussel should feel extremely proud of the creative club night he has created.